One sound that lingers in a community is the quiet of a nursery that ought to be filled with a newborn’s cries. That quiet has turned into a scathing critique of a wellness movement that has gone horribly wrong in New Mexico. A newborn baby’s death from a listeria infection was recently confirmed by state health officials, who believe the mother’s consumption of raw, unpasteurized milk during pregnancy is directly responsible for the tragedy. For a movement that has cloaked itself in the sultry aesthetics of cottagecore and the rebellious vocabulary of “food freedom,” it is a harsh, harsh reality check that successfully markets a game of Russian roulette to mothers in the name of health.
Instagram and TikTok’s algorithmic algorithms have been spreading the raw milk gospel for years. Million-follower influencers who are frequently videotaped standing in scenic fields or in kitchens bathed in sunlight call unpasteurized dairy “liquid gold.” They promote it as a nutrient-dense superfood that the government doesn’t want you to eat, a remedy for dermatitis, and a panacea for allergies. Known for declaring her family to be “mad fresh milk drinkers,” Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm, an account with over 10 million followers, attributes her radiant skin to the substance. The rejection of industrial processing, the connection to the land, and the cream rising to the top all appear stunning on a screen.
However, biology is unconcerned with beauty.
| Key Incident Context | Details |
| Location | New Mexico, USA |
| Event | Death of a newborn infant due to Listeria infection |
| Likely Cause | Maternal consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk during pregnancy |
| Pathogen Risk | Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Bird Flu |
| Vulnerable Groups | Pregnant women, newborns, elderly, immunocompromised |
| Cultural Context | Rise of “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again) movement; influencer promotion of raw milk as “liquid gold” |
No amount of rustic charm can erase the microscopic reality that the death in New Mexico forces us to face. One dreadful pathogen is Listeria monocytogenes. It may show up as flu-like symptoms or a nasty stomach bug in a healthy adult, which is a little annoyance that is quickly forgotten. However, it is disastrous for a fetus. The bacteria have the ability to penetrate the placental barrier and enter the sterile uterine environment. A startling 20 to 30 percent of newborns die from neonatal listeria. Unaware that the glass of milk she drank to nurture her unborn child is methodically harming it, a pregnant lady may feel a little depressed.
We no longer remember the purpose of pasteurization. We see it as a method of killing the food’s “soul”—a sterile, industrial imposition. In actuality, pasteurization was a last-ditch effort to combat milk’s role as one of the main causes of infant mortality in the West. We rescued generations by boiling the milk just enough to eradicate listeria, brucellosis, and tuberculosis. Reversing that development in the name of “natural” living is an act of historical forgetfulness, not health.
Raw milk’s political and cultural momentum has produced a barrier to this scientific fact. Supported by leaders such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement has embraced raw milk as a representation of anti-establishment grit and personal autonomy. Kennedy has been an outspoken admirer for a long time. Risk assessment is ineffective when health decisions are used as political emblems. You are now choosing whose side to support, not what is safe to consume.
When I saw a young mother go for a carton of “cream top” unpasteurized milk in the dairy section of a posh supermarket last Tuesday, I had the sudden, intense want to slap it out of her hand. This was followed right away by the embarrassment of my own intrusion.
The flaws in the regulations are beginning to show. Ballerina Farm was forced to suspend its raw milk sales just last week after Utah Department of Agriculture and Food inspectors discovered health issues during routine testing. This is just the nature of the beast and not a deliberate failing on the part of farmers. Fecal matter can contaminate milk during the milking process, even in the cleanest dairy with the happiest cows and the strictest cleanliness. A superfood can become poisonous with just a tiny bit of pollution.
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Pregnant women are being advised by New Mexico officials, under the direction of Deputy State Epidemiologist Dr. Chad Smelser, to limit their consumption to pasteurized items. In a population already struggling to navigate a maze of dietary restrictions, it is an appeal for risk reduction. We advise pregnant women to stay away from deli meats, soft cheeses, and sushi, but the raw milk movement contends that this one particular danger is actually a benefit.
The gap between the medical truth and the influencer narrative is growing. Social media comments abound with stories of people who have “drank it for years and never got sick,” but the New Mexico family finds no solace in the prejudices of those survivors. The foundation of public health policy cannot be based on chance. A dead baby is the worst-case scenario, thus it must be based on the worst-case scenario.
This fire is fueled by a growing mistrust of knowledge. A sizable section of the populace now instinctively turns away when the FDA or the CDC issues a warning, believing it to be a control measure rather than a protective one. Although it is politically advantageous for agitators and lucrative for content producers, this contrarianism is deadly for consumers.
The natural world has a strong pull. Everybody wants to think that there is a better, purer way to live, free of the processing and chemicals that characterize contemporary living. Nature, however, is not benevolent. From E. coli to avian flu, nature is full of organisms that aim to harm humans. One of the few methods we have to control that risk without damaging the food we need is pasteurization.
We must consider what we are truly getting when we pay more for raw milk as the investigations go on and the “Make Milk Raw Again” hats continue to rotate. Are we purchasing health? Or are we ready to overlook the body count because the illusion of health that we are purchasing is so alluring? The tragedy in New Mexico implies that the cost of that image is too great for those among us who are most in need.
